Fragmentation lives: iOS 7 now on 74% of iPhones, while KitKat has only reached 1% of Android devices

Android fragmentation might be on the decline, but it’s hard not to notice it when comparing numbers like these. According to web and analytics advertising firm Chitika, Apple’s iOS 7 now powers 74.1 percent of North American iPhones. Google’s Android 4.4 KitKat, on the other hand, is only running on 1.1 percent of Android devices, according to Google’s developer statistics.

As you can see in the chart above, iOS 7 powers the vast majority of Apple’s iPhones. To determine iOS distribution, Chitika looked at tens of millions of North American ad impressions on iOS devices between October 25 and November 18. So while it might not be an exact number directly from Apple, it’s a good indication of just how widespread iOS 7 adoption is throughout North America. iOS 7 adoption on the iPad isn’t far behind, at 63.8 percent according to Chitika.

This is in stark contrast to Android. According to Google, KitKat is only running on 1.1 percent of Android devices. Jelly Bean (versions 4.1 – 4.3) makes up the largest segment by far, running on 54.5 percent percent of Android devices. What’s surprising, and a little unsettling, is that Gingerbread, which is two years old at this point, is still running on 24.1 percent of the Android phones and tablets out there.

There are many reasons for this, from memory constraints to manufacturer-added software overlays, which tend to delay the update process, if not shut it down completely. Google pledged to fight Android fragmentation with the release of KitKat, writing the software to support devices with older specs. But it also isn’t providing an update to its own Galaxy Nexus, which should be able to run the new OS just fine.